SURVIVAL ENGLISH FOR THE ORAL EXAM

Here are a few tips before you delve into the subtleties of the expressions below:

- We are not looking for English teachers; in other words, we do not expect you to have perfect command of English. You can achieve excellent marks even with some linguistic imperfections, provided you have a solid grasp of the basics of grammar and vocabulary.

- During your presentation, you must maintain a brisk pace. Pauses are not permitted! You should NEVER dwell on finding the right words or the appropriate phrasing. Use short, concise sentences, for example: What can I say? How can I say? How can I phrase this? How can I express myself clearly?

- You must find words and phrases that energize your speech, using the key phrases learned before the exam and delivering them with conviction in front of the examiners.

- It is essential to use intonation to make our oral presentation engaging. To do this, look the examiner directly in the eyes, without staring, and seek their approval by trying to persuade them as you develop your arguments.

- Whatever your style, the goal of the oral presentation is to make you dynamic. Vary your intonation (avoid monotony), use gestures if necessary, and employ unusual vocabulary and expressions that you have learned beforehand.

- Ladies and gentlemen, I repeat, don't worry about perfection: you are NOT a teacher! Instead, focus on the accuracy of your grammar, the richness of your vocabulary, and, more generally, the structure of your sentences. Illustrate your points with examples from the text, your experience, or your general knowledge.

I) Introduction to the presentation: 

Hello everyone. May I begin my presentation? Please, excuse my accent. I have worked hard to improve my English. I have taken classe, but I have mostly learned on my own by watching videos and listening to audio recordings in English.

I'm not yet ready to present the entire text, as I haven't had enough time to cover all the points I wanted to address, but I will do my best to provide relevant information.

That being said, allow me to take a look at the text you asked me to present. I am not sure I fully understand it, as I have only grasped the main points.

II) Presentation outline:

Judging from what I have read, the text deals with … / The text is about … / The text refers to … / The text tackles the issue of  … / The text highlights the aspect of … / To give a nutshell presentation, … / To start with, the text covers the topic of …

I'm having trouble finding the right words because my vocabulary is limited, but I'll do my best to address the topic. Please excuse my hesitations and stutters: I'm not always sure I'm on the right track. 

I'm a little hesitant to apply because I don't really know which position to choose. / Let me say this before continuing the presentation. / Words don't come out easily as I have a poor vocabulary level but I'll try and do my best to cover the topic at issue. Pardon, me for my stammering a bit and my hesitation because I don't always know whether I''m on track or not.

1) Requesting the examiner's help:

Ask the examiner: Excuse me for bothering you, sir/madam examiner, can you help me? / May I ask you a question? / I am unable to give a clear answer because I don't know how to respond / Can you shed some light on this? / Could you help me? I'm stuck. / Honestly, I don't know what to answer. 

 There is no clear answer to this question / I'm going to adopt a neutral position because I don't know exactly what I should say. / It's difficult for me to take a stance in order to have an overall view of the subject, to put it briefly. / I'll try to manage on my own. / I don't know which direction to take. / One could say that …   

I'm afraid I don't understand your question, could you come again, please? / Sorry, I didn't understand everything, could you repeat that, please? / I apologize, but I didn't grasp the whole thing. / Sorry, can you say that again?

Can you repeat it one more time, please? / What's the English (word) for …? / May I make a request by asking you a question? / Is it possible for me to ask you a question, if I may? / I'm still at sea as regards what you want of me, could you say it again?

2) When faced with a tricky question:

Think twice before answering. While you are pondering, it's important to fill in any information and, above all,  NOT to stare at the examiner without saying a word, as this could be interpreted as a lack of response and result in a poor grade. 

You can therefore arrive at the following expressions: Well, let me think / Let me see / What can I say? / How can I put it into words? / How best to express it? / How can I rephrase it so that you understand my point of view? / How can I make you see what I'm getting at? / How to say it simply and clearly? / To cut to the chase, I must say that … /  To get straight to the point, I can say that … / To make a long story short, let me add that … 

III) Presentation conclusion:

Thank you very much for listening to me until the end / Thank you for your support during my presentation. I hope I did well despite my few questions / Thank you for bearing with me, Sir or Madam. / Thank you for helping me find the right terms and expressions when I was stuck. / Thank you for highlighting me and allowing me to shine in front of you.

You were a great help  to me throughout my presentation always ready to support me. / I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for hands-off and sometimes hands-on support throughout this presentation. / I wish you a wonderful day and good luck for the rest of the day. / Thank you very much for your work as an examination board member and good luck for the future.

Have a pleasant day, Sir/Madam, and keep up the excellent work. / Thank you very much for your professionalism and invaluable help when I needed it. / I hope I managed to impress you a little, even though you had to help me from time to time. / I hope I lived up to expectations despite my slight hesitation on some words.